Posted on 25 April 2012
- The case against suspected rhino poaching
kingpin Dawie Groenewald, his wife and their
alleged co-conspirators has suffered yet
another lengthy delay. The defendants appeared
in a South African court yesterday where
their request for an additional postponement
was approved.
The eleven suspects
are expected to be charged with hundreds,
or even thousands of criminal counts, including
illegal hunting, weapons and permit violations,
illegally trading rhino horn, as well as
fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
“A high level of criminal sophistication
was required to orchestrate the killing
of these rhinos, but this case demonstrates
that no one is above the law, said the head
of WWF’s African Rhino Programme, Dr Joseph
Okori. “The world is watching and waiting
for justice to be served.”
The carcasses of 20
rhinos were found buried on Groenewald’s
property in late 2010. The rhinos were missing
their horns, which are of high value on
black markets in Asia, particularly Vietnam.
Groenewald and his wife
operate a safari tour company and according
to investigators, they are said to be the
masterminds behind the killings. Other suspects
in the case include veterinarians and veterinary
assistants, professional hunters and a helicopter
pilot.
“WWF is as impatient
as the majority of the public about the
delays in the process but we respect that
justice has to follow its course,” said
WWF-South Africa CEO Morné du Plessis.
“We will continue to watch this case closely.”
The next hearing has been scheduled for
October 19.
Record poaching
Rhino poaching in South Africa has spiked
in recent years driven by demand for rhino
horn in Asia. So far this year 181 rhinos
have been killed in the country, according
to government statistics released last week.
Officials say that popular safari destination
Kruger National Park has already lost 111
rhinos this year.
If not curbed, poaching rates could exceed
the record 448 rhino deaths that occurred
in South Africa in 2011.
“The international syndicates involved in
poaching and illegal trafficking of wildlife
products are not only reversing decades
of conservation gains, they are disrupting
economies and destabilizing society,” said
Dr Carlos Drews, Director of WWF’s Global
Species Programme.
“Governments can no
longer ignore the threat these criminals
pose to the security of their citizens and
their wildlife. It will take a concerted
effort by ministries of justice, customs,
foreign affairs and border protection to
take down kingpins who are flouting the
rule of law across Africa and in Asia,”
Drews says.
New use in Asia
Historically, rhino horn has been used in
traditional medicine to treat fever, and
is sometimes carved for ornamental purposes.
In Vietnam a new use for rhino horn has
arisen as a purported cancer treatment,
despite the absence of scientific support
for the claim. Rhino horn has never been
used as an aphrodisiac.
South Africa is home to about 21,000 of
Africa’s 25,000 rhinos, and a quarter of
the country’s rhinos are privately owned.
WWF supports the creation of a comprehensive
rhino registry to track the location and
status of all African rhinos.
WWF also works with
the South African government to improve
forensic investigation of rhino crime scenes
and to improve the knowledge and skills
of the people who prosecute rhino crimes.
To help increase the number of critically
endangered black rhinos, WWF has invested
in range expansion. So far seven founder
populations of black rhino have been released
into new sites. Through the project, 120
black rhino have been translocated and more
than 30 calves have been born.
+ More
Governments should stop
poachers stealing gains made in tiger conservation
Posted on 23 April 2012
- A month ahead of a senior government officials’
meeting, WWF is calling on tiger range countries
to take steps to stop poachers stealing
the gains made by the governments towards
their goal to double the number of tigers
in the wild.
“There is little hope of doubling the number
of wild tigers if every conservation gain
made by each of the countries is undermined
by poachers every day,” said Mike Baltzer,
Leader of WWF’s Tigers Alive Initiative.
“Serious actions, not only simple commitments,
to end poaching are the first vital step
towards wild tiger population recovery and
meeting the goal of doubling wild tiger
numbers by 2022.”
From 15-17 May 2012, senior government officials
will meet for the first time to take stock
of actions taken since the Tiger Summit
in St. Petersburg in 2010, when all 13 tiger
range countries committed to doubling the
number of wild tigers by 2022. The meeting
will review progress of the Global Tiger
Recovery Programme (GTRP) implementation
and discuss directions for priority actions
in the next two years. It will also review
mechanisms for effective collaboration and
targets for further resource mobilization
at international and country levels.
WWF will also be addressing
the illicit trade in tiger parts, with WWF's
wildlife trade programme TRAFFIC presenting
the most recent analysis of tiger parts
seizures in Asia, as well as a strategic
framework for reducing consumer demand for
tigers and other endangered species.
New Delhi meeting opportunity for action
The stocktaking meeting in New Delhi provides
a perfect opportunity to launch a joint
elevated action against poaching and send
a clear message to the world that this is
one target the tiger range countries intend
not to miss.
Poaching is still the
main cause of the tiger’s decline and the
greatest barrier to achieving the goal of
doubling wild tiger numbers. Reports of
illegal tiger trade and smuggling in the
past months have shown that poaching is
still a crime without serious deterrents.
In the first three months of this year alone,
official records from India reported two
tigers poached while an additional three
seizures of tiger body parts were made.
These tiger parts were almost certainly
derived from poaching. The number of tigers
killed due to poaching may be higher as
it is often very hard to detect actual poaching
events. India is the only tiger range country
to systematically monitor tiger deaths and
make this publicly available online at www.tigernet.nic.in.
During the same period, there were also
reports of arrests of persons caught in
possession of tiger parts in India and the
other tiger range countries, namely China,
Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. In
Indonesia, a Sumatran tiger died a few days
after it was rescued from the forest, with
wounds obtained from a hunter’s trap.
“Poachers are profiting
at the expense of the tiger range governments,”
said Mr. Baltzer. “Putting an end to poaching
would ensure that the investments of the
governments and donors do not simply become
financial gains for the poachers and tiger
traders.”
FIve step plan to fight poaching
WWF has come up with five steps tiger range
countries can take immediately to launch
a joint operation towards Zero Poaching.
These include identifying and delineating
the most important sites requiring good
protection from poaching, ensuring these
sites have sufficient, effective and dedicated
enforcement teams, working with police and
judiciary to ensure strict punishment on
poaching, and actively engaging local communities
living adjacent to the important areas in
tiger conservation.
“Every single poaching
incidence must be taken seriously and understood
as a major setback on the road to wild tiger
recovery,” said Mr. Craig Bruce, WWF’s expert
on enforcement and protection of wild tigers.
“The governments should launch an immediate
and direct response to poaching. This will
send a strong message to the poachers and
the wider public that the governments are
very serious in their efforts to protect
tigers.”
WWF will be sending each government a short
document ahead of the meeting describing
some of the actions that can be launched
immediately to make a serious challenge
against poaching and which could form the
basis of a joint operation by the tiger
range countries.
